CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF-SEASON – Volume 9 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – In spite of the fact that the prevailing news of the day centers on the precipice of a new era for the New York Rangers, as the 2019 NHL Entry Draft is about to occur in Vancouver, more news is going in professional hockey.

PACK NEWS

Clearly, the NHL Draft tomorrow in Vancouver (NBCSN Round 1 at 8 pm. Saturday Rounds 2-7 NHL Network 1 pm) will be important to the Wolf Pack roster for this and next year.

The Rangers have nine picks second only to host Vancouver with 10 picks in the seven rounds.

The Rangers had two in the first the second overall pick in which either they get Kappo Kakko or Jack Hughes they had a second one at 20th slot from Winnipeg from the Kevin Hayes deal which they dealt back to the Jets Monday night in the Jacob Trouba deal for ex-Pack Neal Pionk.

Trouba, a right-handed shot like Pionk is a big sturdy two-way defenseman who will command serious playing time at age 25 is an RFA (restricted free agent).

Part of the Trouba Factor is that his wife is studying to become a doctor and clearly wants to do so in the US rather than Canada so a long term deal is in the offing. The deal will be dependent on the salary cap for next year (no final figure yet) and future contracts that will expire for the Rangers, especially the slew of ELC deals they have signed the last two-three years and future ones coming after tomorrow’s draft and the unknown of a new CBA structure.

GM Jeff Gorton told the media in a conference call Monday that he has a deal number in mind for Trouba which means one or two of the other four defensemen in New York making $4 million plus Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal, Brady Skeij or Brenden Smith will either be traded, brought out or buried in Hartford next season.

Some of the first roster shoes dropped late Thursday night with the announcement that defenseman’s Frederick Claesson of the Rangers and the Wolf Pack’s Chris Bigras’s were not given qualifying offers to make them UFA’s.

Claesson, despite his role as the seventh defenseman in NY, was very good, the current roster didn’t give him a spot, Bigras was a slight surprise he played well for most of the year and was one of the last cuts at Rangers training camp plus was Libor Hajek’s primary defense partner through the 25 games or so, but had his season cut short with a severe high ankle sprain.

Julius Bergman, acquired from Columbus is a UFA has already signed a two year deal with the defending Swedish Hockey League champion Frolunda HC.

That leaves two other defensemen, John Gilmour and assistant captain Rob O’ Gara as Group 6 UFA’s on July 1st who will be clearly getting new addresses. Goalie Dustin Tokarski is also a UFA was reassigned to Charlotte on February 28th where he never lost a game and they captured the Calder Cup title. Tokarski won’t be offered a deal and is likely to be playing in Sweden next year.

To nobody’s surprise goalie Brandon Halverson was not given a qualifying offer either.

Just two Wolf Pack roster players left as RFA’s are winger Vinni Lettieri and the organization’s last goalie Chris Nell their status has not been announced yet.

The rest of the draft selections look like this; in the second round, the Rangers have two picks 49th from Dallas and 59th from Tampa Bay via the Mats Zuccarello and Ryan McDonagh/JT Miller trade respectively.

They have as of now then one selection in each of the remaining five rounds. In the third round 68th overall, in the 4th round they go 112th from Columbus, in the 5th round 130th, the 6th round they select 161st and in the 7th and last round 205th from Columbus.

CALLAHAN TO RETIRE 

In some sad and late-breaking news, last night on the Tampa Bay Lightning website former Ranger and ex-Pack Ryan Callahan announced his NHL career has come to a screeching and sudden end and is being placed on their LTI (Long Term Injury) list protecting Tampa Bay on the salary cap.

He has been diagnosed with a degenerative disc disease in his back that has limited him the past three NHL seasons and now forces him to leave the game he played with so much passion. He was limited to just 52 games last season with seven goals and 17 points

His trade over five years ago from the Rangers after eight years on Broadway assuming the captaincy after Chris Drury’s retirement to Tampa Bay and Martin St. Louis, was highly unpopular at the time but saw him compete in one Stanley Cup Final.

His NHL career spanned 757 games with 186 goals, 200 assists, and 386 points. He was originally selected by the Rangers in the 4th round in 2004 NHL Draft (124^th overall). He came off a strong four-year junior career with the Guelph Storm 249 games with 130 goals and 237 points leading them in scoring his last two seasons play under former Hartford Whaler, Dave Barr. He was named as OHL Overage Player (Leo Lalonde Trophy) of the year in his fourth and last season and won an OHL championship in 2003-04.

He played for two US Olympic Teams getting the silver medal in 2010 in Vancouver.

He was a member of the Wolf Pack for just 71 games scoring 42 goals and adding 28 assists for 70 points. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team and played in the AHL All-Star Star Game.

In his last Wolf Pack game on February 1, 2008, he scored one of the prettiest breakaway goals in Wolf Pack history against the then Springfield Falcons in a 6-2 romp. He left Devan Dubnyk’s goalie equipment still hanging from the ceiling of the XL Center.

PLAYERS & COACHING MOVEMENT

Ex-CT Whale and Ranger, Carl Hagelin signed a four year deal with Washington.

Former Beast of New Haven Dallas Eakins was hired as the new head coach for Anaheim elevating him from San Diego (AHL).

Former UCONN Husky (Division II era), New Haven Nighthawk and Hartford Whaler, Todd Krygier, keeps climbing another rung of the coaching ladder. After three years with Western Michigan Broncos (NCHC), three with Muskegon (USHL), and seven with Novi HS (MIPUB), he was hired by the Detroit Red Wings to be an assistant coach in Grand Rapids (AHL) starting in the fall.

Columbus made Chris Clark (South Windsor) the new GM for the Cleveland Monsters plus Director of Player Development for the Blue Jackets.

Clark played 175 AHL games. He won a Calder Cup with the Saint John Flames (2001) and 607 NHL games with Calgary, Washington, and Columbus.  He has been a scout and the last seven years as a development coach for Columbus and Cleveland. Cleveland also hired a very experienced new head coach in Mike Eaves 63, to guide them next season.

Eaves was the head coach at Division III St. Olaf College (MIAC) the last three years after spending 14 years at his alma mater University of Wisconsin (Big 10) where he helped the Badgers to seven NCAA tournament and one national championship in 2006.

He had prior AHL experience with Hershey for three years (1990-1993) and was an assistant coach for three NHL teams Calgary, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

His other coaching stints included Division III Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WIAC), Shattuck’s St. Mary’s (MNPREP), two years with the US National Development Team (USNDTP) and a season with HIFK Helsinki (Finland–FEL). He helped coach the 2004 US WJC team to a gold medal.

He played eight years in the NHL with Minnesota and Calgary and while at Wisconsin won the NCAA title in 1977 making him one of the few players to coach and play to win an NCAA title.

His brother Murray was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame last year.

-Bridgeport’s John Stevens Jr. was the only New York Islander, or Bridgeport Sound Tiger not given a qualifying offer. That makes him a UFA as of July 1st. He is the son of former Whaler and NHL head coach, John Stevens, Sr.

-Ex-Sound Tiger Andrew MacDonald has been placed on unconditional waivers by the Flyers with the intention of buying him out the last year of his contract.

-Brett Sutter winner of the AHL Fred T. Hunt Award this year has re-signed for another season with Ontario.

-The Wolf Pack’s second affiliate, the Maine Mariners (ECHL) signed five players for the upcoming season and two of them have CT ties.

Terrence Wallin (Gunnery Prep) has 30 points in 41 games with the Mariners, but just one assist in 23 games in Hartford. Defenseman Derek Pratt, a former UCONN Husky captain, had a solid first pro season with 63 games and finished with a plus-eight and 16 assists and 18 points signed a one year deal. He got in his first AHL game with Utica on the last weekend of the regular season and was recalled to Hartford, but never played.

-AHL to Europe list adds Brooks Macek leaves Chicago to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Russia-KHL) making it 43 AHL’ers that have signed in Europe so far.

-Ex-Pack captain Mat Bodie leaves Torpedo Novgorod (Russia-KHL) to Vaxjo HC (Sweden-SEL).

=Former Wolf pack Brodie Dupont goes from Dornbirner EC (Austria-ECEL) to the Herning Blue Fox (Denmark-DHL)

-Ex-Sound Tiger Mark Flood leaves Ilves Tampere (Finland-FEL) to play for Vienna (Austria-EBEL).

-Former Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) goalie Michael Garteig fresh off an ECHL Kelly Cup championship with the Newfoundland Growler’s has signed with Tappara (Finland-FEL) for next season.

-Former New Haven Nighthawk and 1980 Rangers 4th round draft pick, Kurt Kleinendorst signs to be the head coach of Nuremberg (Germany-DEL) next year. His brother Scot was drafted by the Rangers in the 5th round that year played 53 games in New York and then five years for the Whalers before ending his career in Washington.

-The two-time defending national champion University Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (NCHC) rewarded head coach Scott Sandelin with a four-year contract extension.

-Goalie Max Prawdzik is a graduate transfer from Boston University (HE) to Arizona State Sun Devils (NCAA Division-1 Independent)

-Five more collegians head overseas, led by former UCONN (HE) player Max Kalter who signed with HC Cergy (France Division-1), University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) goalie Matej Tomek leaves and heads back to his homeland and play for HK Dukla Trencin (Slovakia-SLEL).

Lucas Benedet from Division III Northland College (NCHA) signs with HC Meudon (France Division-2) and Ryker Leer from the University Alaska-Fairbanks (WCHA) signs with Visby/Roma (Sweden Division-I). The latest is Thomas Stahlhuth goes from Colby College (NESCAC) to Melbourne (Australia-AIHL).

That makes 41 collegians have signed in Europe and a total of 243 have signed pro deals in North America and Europe.

-Jay O’ Brien, Providence College (HE) will play at Penticton (BCHL) this year to preserve his NCAA eligibility and transferring to another school seems a strong likelihood for the Flyers draft pick.

-College hockey at the University of Illinois is closer to becoming a reality and joining the Big 10, but a few issues need to get resolved before making a formal announcement. See it HERE

-Zach Malik, son of ex-Whaler, Ranger, and Beast of New Haven defenseman, Marek Malik, has left North Bay (OHL) where he was traded to last year from Sudbury. He has joined HC Plzen (Pilsener) (Czech Republic-CEL) during summer offseason workouts on a tryout basis but has not yet signed a playing deal.

He was drafted by Muskegon (USHL) in April along with younger brother Nick. He is draft eligible for this week’s NHL draft in Vancouver which may determine where he plays in 2019-20 in either the OHL, USHL or CEL.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE HOCKEY

While hockey in North America is put to bed shots, saves and slapshots are in full swing in Australia and New Zealand.

In the Land Down Under, the Newcastle Northstars and CBR (Canberra) Brave are battling the top of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) through its first 12 games tied at 33 points and identical 11-1 records and will meet in a big clash Saturday in Newcastle at the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium (5:00pm Australian local time).

The Northstars second-leading scorer (4th overall in the AIHL) is Francis Drolet (Salisbury Prep) with 11 goals and 25 points in 12 games and its captain Robert “Bert” Malloy (Cheshire/Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack) is off to a strong start in 10 games 11 assists and 15 points in his ninth AIHL campaign and fourth straight as Newcastle’s captain.

The Sydney Ice Dogs second-leading scorer (6th overall in the league) is ex-Pack Paul Crowder with nine goals, 18 assists and 23 points in nine games and their goaltender is former UCONN goalie Garrett Bartus is struggling with a 2-5 record and a 4.32 GAA and .889 save percentage.

The Melbourne Ice leading scorer is another ex-UCONN Husky in Jesse Schwartz with 12 points in 10 games.

Last weekend the AIHL All-Star Game was held in Sydney at the International Convention Centre and Malloy’s Team North triumphed over Team South 11-9. His North teammates included Drolet, Crowder (and his brother Tim) and Schwartz.

As part of the two-day event, they held a skills competition on Friday evening.

Over in New Zealand, the five-team short season NZIHL (New Zealand Ice Hockey League) is underway and one US player of note is Corey Morgan (Avon Old Farms) fresh from Skidmore College (NEHC) is playing for the Botany Swarm with three goals, five points, and a plus-five in the first four games.